The present invention relates to heat activated plungers and, more particularly, to a heat actuated fire extinguisher valve for discharging fire extinguishant from a container upon sensing a fire.
Heat actuated fire extinguishers have been heretofore proposed which respond automatically to excessive heat to release pressurized fire extinguishing agent from a container, as exemplified in the following U.S. Pats.: Nos. 1,931,230, issued to Laengel on Oct. 17, 1933, No. 2,115,371, issued to Mossberg on Apr. 26, 1938, No. 2,166,277, issued to Adams on July 18, 1939, No. 2,759,546, issued to Zabriskie on Aug. 21, 1956, No. 3,536,139, issued to Berti et al on Oct. 27, 1970, and No. 3,638,733, issued to DeRouville et al on Feb. 1, 1972.
Previously proposed valves have been mounted on a fire extinguisher container and typically include a slidable stem which is biased toward a fluid discharge position, while being held in a container closing position by a fusible element. When the fusible element is melted by excessive heat, the stem is released for movement to the discharge position, usually under urgings of pressurized extinguishant. Many of the proposed valves prevent filling of the container when the valve is in place. Hence, they are useful only in connection with containers having a supplemental fill port, or which pressurize the fluid by gravitational action. Present day equipment, though, usually requires containers whose contents are pressurized independently of gravity.
In the above-referenced Berti et al patent, filling of the container with the valve is accommodated by removal of the fusible linkage, which must then be replaced after the container has been filled. It would be desirable to eliminate such steps, as well as to provide a fire extinguisher valve which can be manufactured so inexpensively that replacement of the entire valve after one-time actuation is practicable.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a novel heat actuated fire extinguisher valve which is of simplified construction and which alleviates the above-described problems.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel heat actuated fire extinguisher valve which accommodates filling of a fire extinguisher container without the need for replacement of parts.
It is another object of the invention to provide a heat actuated fire extinguisher valve which requires minimal effort to assemble.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a heat actuated fire extinguisher valve which can be economically replaced after one-time actuation.